Metropolitan Line Strikes

Keith Prince: With regard to the RMT's Metropolitan line strikes on 20th January and 10th February, how do you plan to "roll up [your] sleeves" and stop them in their tracks?

The Mayor: I firmly believe that the best way to resolve issues and avoid disputes is through a commitment to constructive and open dialogue.
Following engagement, TfL and I welcome the news that the RMT has suspended its proposed strike action of 20 January. However, we are disappointed that the proposed industrial action on 10 and 11 February remains in place. TfL will continue to work with the RMT to resolve this issue.

Pausing and reviewing the Silvertown Road Tunnel

Siân Berry: In December the Regeneration, Transport & Culture Scrutiny Panel of Greenwich Council called for construction of the Silvertown Road Tunnel to be paused pending a review taking into account the climate emergency and the borough’s plans to be carbon neutral. What assistance will you and Transport for London (TfL) be able to provide for such a review?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) and I would be happy to provide any reasonable information to the Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) in respect of the Silvertown Tunnel scheme. Much of TfL’s information about the scheme is already in the public domain. TfL has made clear commitments to transparency in its continued delivery, and indeed TfL officers attended this scrutiny panel to provide information and answer any questions from panel members and members of the public.
I would note that this scrutiny panel has made a recommendation only, and the position of RBG has not changed. TfL is now over two years into the main construction contract, with major works underway on site; there is no intention of pausing the scheme. The Silvertown Tunnel is vital to supporting sustainable development in east London by finally addressing the chronic issues of congestion, poor reliability, and a lack of resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel and the need for much improved cross-river bus connectivity.

Uber High Court Declaration (1)

Keith Prince: In light of the recent High Court declaration on Uber, what Private Hire regulatory measures will you introduce?

The Mayor: Following the recent Divisional Court judgment, Transport for London (TfL) notified private hire vehicle (PHV) operators of the judgment and has issued two regulatory notices which provide further information. These are TPH Notice 19/21 and TPH Notice 22/21.
All PHV operators will need to carefully consider the Divisional Court’s judgment and take steps to ensure that they comply with it, including considering whether any changes to their way of working are required. PHV operators must act within the regulatory regime and TfL will continue to monitor compliance.

Uber High Court Declaration (2)

Keith Prince: In relation to the recent High Court declaration on Uber and your answer to question 2019/14346, how can an operator accept a Private Hire booking and enter into a contractual obligation without the knowledge they have a driver to fulfil the booking? Will you make it a condition of licence, that operators should have that knowledge before acceptance?

The Mayor: There are around 1,800 licensed private hire vehicle (PHV) operators in London, many of which have different operating models and numbers of drivers and vehicles at their disposal.
As the regulatory authority, Transport for London expects London PHV operators to act responsibly and do everything that they can to carry out bookings they have previously accepted.
Despite this, there may be legitimate reasons why a PHV operator may not be able to fulfil a booking they have accepted, for example due to road closures, a vehicle breakdown or a driver becoming unwell. For this reason, making a mandatory requirement in all cases would be inappropriate.

Stop and Search

Emma Best: Are you concerned that since 2016 the amount of stop & searches leading to finding a weapon has decreased by 26.92%?

The Mayor: The MPS dashboard, which tracks monthly data on the yearly number of arrests for weapons following a stop and search, shows this has actually increased. In 2016 there were 3,200 arrests from weapons when compared with 4,237 in 2021 which shows a 32.4% increase.
I have been clear that I support intelligence lead stop and search and am working closely with the Commissioner to ensure officers are conducting searches professionally and proportionately. But I am not complacent, and my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime scrutinises this data and raises any concerns with senior Met Police officers. In addition, my Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police Service are working on improving the level of accountability and scrutiny for all officers through increased community scrutiny, enhanced training and body worn video supervision.

SPAD Incidents on the TfL Network

Nicholas Rogers: Broken down by year and line, please provide the number of signals passed at danger (SPAD) incidents on the TfL network since May 2016.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is focused on reducing the number of signals passed at danger incidents (SPADs) across the whole TfL network, including London Underground, London Overground, TfL Rail and DLR. On the London Underground network, which has seen year on year improvements in the number of SPADs, there are control systems in place to stop any train that passes a red signal.
Most lines are now automated (the Central, Jubilee, Northern, and Victoria lines) or in the process of being automated (the Circle, Hammersmith & City, District and Metropolitan lines via the Four Lines Modernisation Programme) and this will continue to reduce the number of SPADs across the network. There are still times when automated trains are driven manually, including when the train is moving into the stabling at depots. The DLR is fully automated.
Number of SPADs by Line London Underground
May - Dec 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Jan - Nov 2021
Bakerloo line
19
45
25
37
18
18
Central and Waterloo & City lines
7
13
17
14
10
10
Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
24
64
63
37
38
17
District line
57
98
100
78
57
50
Jubilee line
3
2
5
9
3
3
Metropolitan line
28
65
90
62
44
33
Northern line
0
3
2
3
1
4
Piccadilly line
99
179
186
141
146
104
Victoria line
0
1
3
3
1
1
Number of SPADs London Overground
May - Dec 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Jan - Nov 2021
London Overground
11
12
7
12
11
5
Number of SPADs TfL Rail
May - Dec 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Jan - Nov 2021
Liverpool Street to Shenfield
2
2
1
1
3
3
Paddington to Heathrow/ Reading
-
-
0
3
2
2
Number of SPADs DLR
May - Dec 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Jan - Nov 2021
Docklands Light Railway
0
0
0
0
0
0

Victims not pursuing prosecution

Caroline Russell: What work are you, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) doing to reduce the number of victims that are giving up on pursuing prosecution for crimes that they experience?

The Mayor: MOPAC regularly convenes partners to look at recently commissioned research (such as the London Rape Review, and the London Victims’ Commissioner’s Review of Compliance with the Victims Code of Practice) exploring the drivers for victims disengaging from the criminal justice process and to agree meaningful actions to address this important issue.
In the face of the extensive backlog of cases in the Crown Courts, my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime convened partners to ensure all victims are being supported through the protracted delays in the courts. I have also lobbied Government to get the resources London needs to bring the backlog down. I am disappointed that our calls for a large‑scale secure facility in London to deal with more complex custodial cases has not been addressed.
I welcome the Government’s plans to extend the eligibility for recorded evidence and cross-examinations to take place before trial, thereby reducing the waiting time for vulnerable victims to give evidence at court. This is something that London’s Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, and I have lobbied the Government on for some time.

TfL ‘Oversight’ of Health and Safety on the Bus Network

Keith Prince: How can you credibly reconcile your response to question 2021/4510, where you wrote “TfL has regular oversight of health and safety on the [bus] network” with your response to question 2021/4507, where you wrote “Transport for London (TfL) does not require the bus operating companies to share copies of their risk assessments covering activities within their garage environments. This includes any that were created or updated as a result of Covid-19”?

The Mayor: As explained in previous responses, throughout the pandemic there has been regular communication between Transport for London (TfL) and the bus operators. This communication has occurred at various levels to ensure oversight of the most urgent issues and inform a holistic approach in responding to COVID-19.
The approach has enabled control measures to be consistently coordinated as far as possible, and has meant that TfL has not been reliant on reviewing copies of the bus operator risk assessments, which remain the responsibility of the private bus operating companies.

Roads Funding (3)

Elly Baker: The Department for Transport lists the following new funding schemes on its website:
Potholes Fund – Budget 2020
Can you confirm, regarding this fund, whether a) the GLA/TfL and b) London’s Boroughs are able to bid? What bids have been submitted to those funds by the GLA/TfL? What bids were successful and how much funding was provided?

The Mayor: I assume you are referring the £500 million Potholes Fund allocation in the 2020 Budget. Transport for London has not received any funding from this, as London, along with other devolved cities, is ineligible to apply to this fund.

London Underground Congestion Control and Emergency Plan Review

Emma Best: Were any recommendations made as a result of the London Underground Congestion Control and Emergency Plan review?

The Mayor: London Underground’s Congestion Control and Emergency Plans are in place at hundreds of locations including stations, train crew accommodations, control rooms and other operational locations. The plans are reviewed at least once a year and updated to include any local changes, for example a new station entrance or a new lift, to ensure the safety plans are always up to date. Any recommendations from a local review are implemented locally by the responsible management team.

Impact of Northern Line Closure

Emma Best: How many passengers per day do you forecast will be affected by the closure of the Northern line Bank branch between Kennington and Moorgate?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is running a full-scale, pan-London communications campaign to give customers the tools and advice they need to re-time, re-route or use alternative public transport for their journeys, in order to help minimise the impact of the closure.
In addition, TfL is providing alternative public transport for the duration of the closure, including increasing the frequency of Northern line trains on the Charing Cross branch from 24 trains an hour to 32 trains an hour at the height of the peak, and the introduction of a new bus route (number 733) running between Oval/Kennington, Elephant & Castle, London Bridge and the City.
TfL passenger forecasts for short to medium term post-pandemic recovery suggest that 155,000 weekday trips per peak period will be directly affected by the Northern line closure, meaning customers need to change their journey. The government ‘work from home’ guidance at the beginning of the closure meant that these numbers were further reduced in the short term.

Share of fares paid by Londoners

Siân Berry: Could you provide an estimate for the proportion of fares received by Transport for London (TfL) that are paid by residents of London, and could you provide this for each year since 2016?

The Mayor: Unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish between fares received by Transport for London (TfL) from London residents versus non-London residents.
TfL does not associate the residence of a customer with fares received, whether that is when they purchase a ticket, top-up an Oyster card, or use either pay as you go (PAYG) credit or contactless to travel.
This means that TfL has no reliable way of providing the estimate requested.

Consequences of withdrawal from the travelcard agreement

Siân Berry: You have now confirmed in discussions on your draft budget that taking Transport for London (TfL) out of the travelcard agreement is an option to increase revenues. What would be the consequences of such a change for Londoners who use TfL services for part of a journey but also depend upon services from other train operators and who currently travel using a travelcard or season ticket?

The Mayor: Ceasing participation in the Travelcard Agreement would mean that Transport for London (TfL) would stop selling Travelcards. It would also mean that Travelcards would no longer be valid for travel on TfL services. These days, fewer people buy Travelcards as many have switched to pay as you go (PAYG) and this trend is expected to continue due to hybrid working for many office workers.
Customers would have to use contactless or Oyster to PAYG on TfL services. PAYG is valid on the same services as Travelcards meaning customers can still travel on all TfL services and National Rail.
No final decision has been made as to when TfL would withdraw from the agreement and no discussions yet have taken place between TfL, rail operators and stakeholders.

See Their Side Advert (5)

Neil Garratt: Have processes been changed to ensure that the Chief Safety Health and Environment Officer will have sign off on future media campaigns about road safety?

The Mayor: Processes are already in place to ensure the Chief Safety Health and Environment Officer is consulted on campaigns relating to road safety before they are launched. Campaign progress is shared during strategic development and creative development with the Chief Safety Health and Environment Officer before campaigns go live.
The responsibility for final sign off for media campaigns continues to sit with senior management within the team responsible for marketing. TfL has since reviewed its processes for sign off and improved these further with additional opportunities for oversight and input.

TfL credit rating

Caroline Pidgeon: TfL’s credit rating was lowered in October 2020 and again in June 2021. What impact does this have on TfL’s expected borrowing costs and how does this affect the budget’s risk profile?

The Mayor: The June 2021 credit rating downgrade by Moody's was due in part to their assessment of the financial support provided by the Government and the absence of a longer-term funding arrangement. Although over 90 per cent of Transport for London’s (TfL) debt is at fixed interest rates (including a fixed margin), which limits the immediate impact of any specific event on TfL’s borrowing costs, TfL is exposed to changes in borrowing costs as its fixed rate debt matures and is refinanced, and for the portion of borrowing that is not fixed.
The cost of TfL’s variable rate borrowing has marginally increased since its short-term credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s in June 2021. This is being seen in the short-term commercial paper market that TfL uses for its working capital requirements and is in part due to an increased margin required by investors following the rating downgrade, and also due to underlying increases in interest rates across the market. Currently, TfL’s main source of funds for refinancing maturing debt is the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). The rate charged by the PWLB does not vary depending on TfL’s credit rating or perceived credit quality and is therefore not impacted by the credit rating downgrade.
TfL routinely updates borrowing cost assumptions as part of the budgeting and forecasting process. TfL’s revised budget published in July 2021 included an increase of around £5m due to the Moody’s downgrade.

Cost of negotiations for TfL

Caroline Pidgeon: What is the estimated total staff hours and cost to TfL for taking part in the four negotiating rounds with the Department for Transport for the Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreements since the onset of Covid?

The Mayor: There is a core funding negotiation team of 10 FTE who spend all of their time on funding negotiation work, and both the Commissioner and the Chief Finance Officer spend around 50 per cent of their time. In addition, there is a range of 200 to 250 FTEs from across the organisation who also complete the extensive work required to prepare for the negotiations and the delivery of the ongoing funding conditions. These FTEs have spent around 25-30 per cent of their time on this work at varying points since the funding discussions first started in 2020. Although there have been no direct additional employee costs, this additional work has resulted in a number of employees working excessive hours at times to absorb the additional workloads.

Metflix

Susan Hall: Please can you provide a list of all the videos available on Met’s ‘Metflix’?

The Mayor: There are 806 digital assets on the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) learning system Metflix. They have been broken down into the following categories:
Profession
Videos
Armed Policing
3
Crime Prevention, Inclusion, Engagement
23
Criminal Justice
53
Data + Digital
156
Intelligence
57
Investigation
157
Leadership
83
Public Order
43
Roads Policing
9
Safeguarding
100
Safety
63
Other
59
Total
806

See Their Side Advert (2)

Neil Garratt: Freedom of Information requests relating to this aborted road safety campaign show that the Walking and Cycling Commissioner did not sign off the campaign. Why not?

The Mayor: Unfortunately on this occasion the Walking and Cycling Commissioner did not have sight of the campaign before it went live.
Processes are in place to ensure the campaigns are shared during their development and in advance of launch. Regrettably, due to tight timelines and a breakdown in process, this consultation did not happen before the go live for this campaign. TfL has since reviewed its processes for sign off and improved these further with additional opportunities for oversight and input.

See Their Side Advert (3)

Neil Garratt: Have processes been changed to ensure that future media campaigns about road safety will be signed off by the Walking and Cycling Commissioner?

The Mayor: Processes are already in place to ensure that the Walking and Cycling Commissioner is consulted on road safety campaigns before they are launched; however, Transport for London has reviewed the processes for sign off and improved these further with additional opportunities for oversight and input.

See Their Side Advert (4)

Neil Garratt: Freedom of Information requests relating to this aborted road safety campaign show that the lead officer for Vision Zero, the Chief Safety Health & Environment Officer, did not sign off the campaign. Why not?

The Mayor: The Chief Safety Health & Environment Officer was consulted on the campaign before it went live. Feedback was given and taken on-board, however the responsibility for sign off for media campaigns sits with those responsible for developing marketing campaigns, which at the time was led by the Managing Director of Customers Communication & Technology at Transport for London.

384 bus [3]

Anne Clarke: An initial Equalities Impact Assessment of the 384 bus changes suggested the removal of most of the sections in New Barnet would create a high negative impact on equalities groups, particularly elderly and disabled people, bearing in mind the longer walking distances and hilly terrain. Then TfL deleted this EqIA from their website and replaced it with a different one that didn't discuss or rate the negative impacts. Why did this happen, and will TfL review the EqIA to reflect these issues?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) undertook an Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) during the development of the scheme to change route 384. It considered impacts on all protected characteristics and detailed specific impacts on changing the roads that route 384 serves.
The EqIA format was changed to meet best practice, including not making unevidenced and unsupported value judgements. The EqIA for the route 384 scheme was therefore reformatted to be consistent with others undertaken for the network. However, this change in formatting did not change the intricate level of detail TfL reviewed when deciding individual roads that the new route 384 now serves. The EqIA continued to set out the identified adverse impacts. Therefore, TfL does not plan to review the EqIA.

E-Scooters (1)

Neil Garratt: What representations have you made to the Government regarding the new regulations you believe would be necessary should private e-scooters be legalised?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has engaged with the Department for Transport (DfT) throughout the preparation, launch and operational delivery of the e-scooter rental trial, and continues to do so. TfL has sought throughout to ensure that, in considering future regulation relating to these vehicles, priority is given to:
a) Introducing evidence-based controls to ensure safe construction standards and steer good rider behaviour;
b) Equipping city authorities to shape the future rental market; and
c) Providing a clear and consistent position for the police.
While TfL’s main operational experience is of rental e-scooters, it is vital that safety is central to any future Government plans to legalise privately owned e-scooters too. These vehicles are often poorly built compared to the rental models, and decisions are required on key matters pertaining to their use such as vehicle registration, licensing and insurance requirements, as well as robust standards for vehicle construction. All decisions relating to future legislation and/or regulations rest initially with DfT, and ultimately with Parliament.

See Their Side Advert (1)

Neil Garratt: TfL recently pulled an advert entitled “See their side”. How much was spent on commissioning, producing, and displaying this advert before the campaign was pulled?

The Mayor: A total of £981,597.31 was budgeted for the campaign, however actual spend was £751,621.39 as a result of pausing the advertising and switching the remaining media value to another road danger reduction campaign. These costs cover creative production cost, media spend and market research for both the television and cinema advertisement and posters.
Please note this figure may reduce slightly in future once final costs for areas such as media spend come in.